Coates, the critically acclaimed author of Between the World and Me and the winner of the MacArthur grant has been highly critical of Sanders in the past. However, he credits Sanders for what some would call impressive ascension in the polls after winning alongside Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary.

“Had you told me this like a year ago, I certainly would not have expected, you know, an avowed socialist to be putting up these sorts of numbers, and actually be contending for the Democratic Party nomination, but I think it’s awesome,” Coates said. “I think it’s great.”

Coates explained that he took issue with Hillary Clinton’s connections to Wall Street as well as her past involvement with criminal justice reform that has disproportionately hurt Black Americans.

Despite his support, Coates insisted that he won’t be doing any work to help advance the campaign like making appearances or make calls to prospective voters.

Coates’ announcement comes just as Sanders has been visibly courting the African American vote—a move that some have dismissively referred to as “pandering” the Black vote. Today, Sanders dined with Rev. Al Sharpton in New York and Benjamin T. Jealous, former president of the NAACP, announced his support last week.

“I want people to understand that the world we live in now is not the world that we have to live in,” Coates said. “It’s really, really important to me that we have a broad range of options in terms of the electorate.